What thoughts run through your head as you read the verse above? My guess is that there are possibly three different responses:
1. An example immediately has filled your mind of a time the Lord answered the cries of your heart. This verse fills you with rejoicing for all God has done.
2. You have been praying for something for longer than you expected and you are still waiting for His response. This verse fills you with hope that God can and will answer in His time.
3. This text sounds so instant and easy. It is too cut and dry. You lift cry after cry, and each one seems to be met with deaf ears. God answers others, but not you. This verse fills you with heartache and disappointment.
Psalm 120 is the first of fifteen psalms compiled as the Psalms of Ascent. They are the songs sung by the people who were climbing Mount Moriah, travelling to Jerusalem. The very first verse begins with expressing pain in prayer to God as His people cry to Him in distress. How like our own lives as mountains stretch before us, our prayers often begin with a cry for help.
Friend, the first thing we need to see here is that we all have troubles. Not one of us is immune to problems. Difficulties arise continually, like those little gophers who peek their heads out of holes at the carnival game. Just when we think one has been dealt with, another one, two or ten appear. John 16:33 tells us that in this world we will have trouble. Hardships are a given.
The Psalmist's reaction is to take his troubles to the Lord. I don't know about you, but often I run to others quicker. I do not think it is wrong to seek help from those God has resourced to meet our needs. Oftentimes God has previously and purposefully placed people in our circle of friends who are instantly there to step up and in when a sudden situation surfaces, but do not miss that their presence is God already answering. We must honestly tell the Lord what is happening and how we are feeling. Do not doubt that He knows, but He invites us and longs for us to come to Him first, deepening our intimacy with Him.
Next, we see that the Psalmist cried out to God. This is not a casual comment on the current circumstance. This is a cry to be delivered from deep distress. In essence it's a "Do something God!" lifted urgently and earnestly. Desperate for relief the writer is begging God to intervene. This is an intense appeal for removal from all that is causing angst, with the longing for a sheltered refuge that can only be found in God. Still, at the very heart of Psalms of lament like this one, is the promise of hope. The prayers themselves are evidence of belief in an answer or they would not be voiced.
The Psalmist says he prayed and God answered. End of story. We do not know how or when God answered, but an answer came. When God seems silent and grief lingers, the waiting is wearisome. Reading the remainder of the Psalm it makes me wonder how God answered. The verses that follow really do not give testimony to any miraculous relief. Suffering, pain, despair, a need for rescue and peace continues to be expressed. Too often we may assume every answer is exactly what was desired. I do not know what answer came, but the writer did not stop expressing his concerns to the Lord. Maybe the answer was the strength and endurance to persevere.
You see, prayers never really end. Our cries will continue until God calls us home, but we have the assurance of answers as we balance His promises with our realities. May we keep a continual conversation going with Lord and trust in His sovereign care.
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